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Jerome Powell's Semiannual Monetary Policy Report; Strong Wage Growth; Inflation, Labor Market, Unemployment, Job Gains, 2 Percent Inflation
"...There is little sign of disinflation thus far in the category of core services excluding housing, which accounts for more than half of core consumer expenditures. To restore price stability, we will need to see lower inflation in this sector, and there will very likely be some softening in labor market conditions. Although nominal wage gains have slowed somewhat in recent months, they remain above what is consistent with 2 percent inflation and current trends in productivity. Strong wage growth is good for workers but only if it is not eroded by inflation...Despite the slowdown in growth, the labor market remains extremely tight. The unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in January, its lowest level since 1969. Job gains remained very strong in January, while the supply of labor has continued to lag." more »
February’s Hot Data Releases: Governor Christopher J. Waller, Federal Reserve Board Frames a Few of the Issues Around Inflation and the Economic Outlook
"Retail sales for January also came in much stronger than expected, suggesting the economy was slowing less than it had appeared just a month earlier, a picture that was confirmed by data on personal spending, which represents almost 70 percent of gross domestic product. Continuing progress on inflation depends on lowering demand and moderating economic activity, and the retail sales and spending data suggest that progress on reducing aggregate demand may have stalled. Whether or not subsequent data confirm the setback in progress last month, the FOMC will do what is needed to reduce inflation to the Committee's 2 percent objective over time. It is possible there may be some bumps on that path, but I assure you, the FOMC's dual mandate objectives will be achieved." more »
Welcome to TDI-11861: NIH-funded Team Contraceptive Disables Sperm; More Work is Still Needed Before Human Clinical Trials Could Begin
"An NIH-funded team of researchers, led by Drs .Jochen Buck and Lonny Levin at Weill Cornell Medicine, pn and fertility. Their findings appeared in Nature Communications on February 14, 2023. A variety of tests in mice didn’t identify any potential safety issues with TDI-11861. The team then treated male mice with a single dose of TDI-11861 before allowing them to mate with females. The treated mice showed no differences in mating behavior from untreated mice. But the sperm from treated mice lost the ability to move on their own. Sperm remained immobile after being deposited in the female reproductive tract..." "Men produce several million sperm per day — about 1,000 per second. To prevent pregnancy, all of these need to be stopped from reaching an egg." more »
Jo Freeman Reviews: The Moment: Changemakers on Why and How They Joined the Fight for Social Justice
Jo Freeman Reviews: After publishing his last book in 1921, based on memories and interviews with civil rights icon C.T. Vivian, Steve Fiffer wanted to do more like it. He felt that many lesser-known people had stories that needed to be told. His publisher concurred. It does help to start with an interested publisher. At that time it was NewSouth books. By the time the book came out in November 2022, NewSouth had become an imprint of the University of Georgia Press.
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